Good Ole Abe

I’ve heard about Abraham ever since Sunday school. He was a giant man of faith, father of Israel, almost offered up his son to show His love/obedience for God, and such on and so forth.  If you can’t tell from my lack of intense description of good ole Abe or the fact that I just called him good ole Abe, I never had a real appreciation for him. But a few weeks ago I met a new Abraham that made the old Abraham climb up the “mad respect” ladder.

 

The Abraham I met is an African man probably about 30, has a cracked front tooth, mini afro, and a odor that is not the most pleasant thing in the world. Also, he has a compound fracture in his right leg and cuts on his legs and arm from the led pipe he was beaten with.

Yeah, slight shift  in the mental picture of Abraham.

 

Let me explain how Abraham came to be the owner of a new broken bone and scared skin. A few men were beating a boy named David and when Abraham walked up and simply asked why they were beating him. The men thought Abraham was David’s father and then wanted to beat him too. They threw him into an empty guard’s room and beat him when they were through with David.  They left both Abraham and the David there lifeless until as Abraham says “Some good Samaritans came along.”  Then just like the parable they were carried to the hospital like two bags of maize for healing. Then a week later two white guys greeted him, heard his story, were changed forever, and cried out to God for His mercy and compassion.

 

Needless to say the one of the white guys was me. When I heard this Abraham’s story I expected to hear things like “I don’t know why I got beaten” or “ It was very unfair that I received a beating that wasn’t mine.”  I mean the man had been in the hospital racking up bills and suffering for just short of a week for something that was right! Instead after a week Abraham responded with “Now I can walk, look how good God is.”

 

WHAT?!?! That is a response I have only heard people talk about. I’ve never actually have met someone who has been beaten with a led pipe for sticking up for a weak boy and then thanked God. My mind was blown and my jaw was on the floor.

 

I had no idea what to say to that. Like really? What do I say? I can’t even come close to truly empathize or sympathize for him. But then God stepped in and gave me a word. (Praise Him)

Earlier that morning I read Psalm 41 and found nothing to relate to. It talked about standing up for the weak and being persecuted for it and God being by my sickbed when I’m ill. See nothing for me. But for Abraham…

Stand up for weak? Check.

Being beaten for standing up for weak? Check.

God being by him on his sickbed? Check.

Duh, of course I didn’t get anything out of that Psalm. It wasn’t for me.  It was for Abraham so I let him reminded him of that and he responded with a good ole Amen.

 

Thanks to the one act of Abraham in Africa I now can start to appreciate the many acts of good ole Abe.